“I’m scared, Tess.”
“It’s okay, honey. I’m going to call 9-1-1 from the phone in the kitchen.” She clutched on to Molly’s hand and they walked quickly down the hall. Tess cast a quick but furtive glance in each of the bedrooms and the bathroom as they made for the kitchen. Tess sat Molly in a chair and dialed the number. There was a bit of a hassle with the operator, who didn’t consider the call an emergency. But when Tess retorted that the person still might be on the premises, she was told police officers would be right there.
“Do you think someone’s hiding?” Molly asked when she hung up.
“No, no, burglars don’t want to get caught, right? They want to leave as soon as possible. I just said that so someone would come right away.”
Molly nodded, but she didn’t look convinced.
“I could check and make sure. Would you be okay in here while I do that?”
Molly nodded. “Squiggly will keep me company.”
Tess wanted to stay with her but her impulse to ensure that no one else was in the house was stronger. “I’ll be right back,” she said, dashing from the room and along the hall to the back door.
The door was ajar, one of its window panes smashed in. Tess slowed down. Was someone still outside or in the studio? She hesitated, peering into the empty yard. She waited a few seconds, then stepped out. The studio was at a forty-five-degree angle to the back door, but Tess saw that it had not escaped notice. The hanging planter was lying upside down on the ground next to the studio door while the corner pane of glass in the door had been smashed, allowing someone enough room to insert an arm and unlock the door.
She was tempted to look in the studio but didn’t want to leave Molly in the house alone. When she returned to the kitchen, she reassured her that the thieves had gone.
“I’m glad Nick wasn’t home when the burglars came,” she said.
Tess clasped a hand to her mouth. She’d forgotten all about Nick. He should have been home by then. “You’re right,” she said to Molly. It had been a stroke of luck that Nick wasn’t home, but where the heck was he anyway?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE POLICE ARRIVED a little after six. Nick had still not come home and Tess knew she’d have to make a decision about what to do. The problem was, she didn’t know any of his friends, nor did she know where Nick kept an address book. If he even had one. She’d never felt so helpless in all her life.
The two officers who came weren’t that impressed by what they saw. Minimal damage, they’d said. When Tess was unable to give them a list of stolen items—in fact, when she’d admitted she couldn’t be certain if anything had been stolen at all—the police dismissed the break-in as a juvenile prank. Or perhaps, they’d insisted, some juvie had been looking for loose cash or alcohol, rather than the usual electronic equipment. One of the officers found a piece of plywood in the garage and nailed it across the broken window of the door leading into the house.
“You’ll want to call the insurance people right away and get those windows fixed,” he cautioned.
As they were leaving, a battered pickup roared up the drive, squealed to a halt in a tornado of dust and gravel, and disgorged Nick. The expression in his face as he took in the police cruiser, the officers and Tess, was a mix of confusion and apprehension. Later, Tess realized he’d assumed she’d called the police because he hadn’t come right home from school.
The pickup roared off in much the same manner as it had arrived, which allowed a brief glimpse of an older teenager at the wheel. Tess noticed the officers raise their eyebrows at one another.
“What’s the matter?” Nick asked, drawing closer. His eyes darted to the police but settled on Tess.
She thought he looked guilty about something and apparently, the police did, too.
“Where’ve you been, son?” one of them asked.
Nick frowned. “With friends.”
“What friends? Other than the guy in the pickup.”
Nick’s frown deepened. “Kids from school. Why?”
The second officer took over. “Thing is, guy, your house was broken into this afternoon sometime.”
Tess saw Nick’s eyes widen in disbelief. She saw instantly that he’d known nothing about it. He turned from the police to her.
“I don’t think anything was stolen,” she said. “Maybe you can look around with me later, to find out for sure.”
“Is this not your residence, ma’am? Are you not Gabriela Wheaton?”
Tess felt the color rise into her face. She avoided Nick, turning her head to say, “No, I’m Tess Wheaton. Gabriela and Richard Wheaton—the former owners of the place—are…are dead.”
“Oh. So you would be related how?”
“I’m, uh, Nick’s sister. Richard Wheaton was my father.”
The officers nodded but the puzzled expressions didn’t leave their faces.
“So are you this fella’s guardian, then?”
“Uh, I suppose you could call me that—for now.”
“For now? This is confusing, ma’am. What I need to know is, whom shall we call if we find any stolen property or if we’re lucky enough to catch the deadbeat that broke in?”
Now it was her turn for the hot seat, Tess figured. Nick and the police were staring at her with expectant faces. “I’ll be here for the next…uh, few days, maybe even a week. But the family lawyer—Jed Walker—is executor of the estate so any information about stolen property should probably be raised with him.”
Their nods were synchronized with growing suspicion in their faces. Something was amiss, their personal radar was warning. But they couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Tess might have been more amused had she not sensed Nick’s tension.
As if reading her mind, the first officer turned to Nick. “Can you give us more specific details of your whereabouts today? I assume you weren’t at school, otherwise you’d have told us right off.”
Nick cast a quick sidelong glance at Tess, taking one step away from her. “No,” he mumbled. “I wasn’t at school. I had a free period, so I left early.”
“Uh-huh. Then maybe you can give us a name and address of someone who can vouch for you?”
“Why? Am I, like, some kinda suspect or something?”
“It happens, fella. In the best of families. Kids feel they’re not getting enough allowance—or even attention.”
“I wouldn’t break into my own house. That’s stupid. Why would I do that?”
“Like I said, there are lots of reasons.”
A heavy silence fell over the four of them. Tess felt she ought to say something, to come to Nick’s defense, but found herself focusing on the fact that he’d skipped school again and no one had called. Not even Alec.
After a long moment, the second officer said, “Well, maybe you can give your…uh, sister some names and she can pass them on to us. Thing is, even if you weren’t involved, one of your buddies could have been. This place is mighty tempting, out here off the highway. No close neighbors. A person could take all the time he wanted to have a look around. Maybe even come back.”
Thanks for that, officer. I’m really going to sleep well tonight. Tess rubbed her arms, chilled by the thought.
Nick just stared sullenly at the ground. Finally, the officer reminded Tess to call them with a list of any stolen property and that they, in turn, would get back to her as soon as possible. “Though I hate to say, ma’am, the success rate for this kinda job isn’t too good.”
As soon as the cruiser was out of sight, Nick wheeled on Tess. “Thanks for all the support—Sis! Great job. Good to have you in the family.” He spun on his heel and headed for the front door.
“Wait a sec,” she called out. “You don’t have the right to speak to me like that. You went back on your word. You promised you’d go to school and then you don’t even have the grace to call and tell us where you are or when you’ll be home.”
“As if that would’ve made a difference. I don’t owe you anything, Tess. Not even pro
mises. ’Cause if adults can break them, so can kids. And like you just said to those cops, like, you don’t even know when you’re going home. Only that you are. Why don’t you just be honest with us and admit that you don’t wanna have a brother and sister hanging on your neck like a ball and chain?”
“I’ve never said that!”
“Yeah, but you never needed to. It was kinda obvious to everyone from the start. Even to Alec, who’s, like, the most positive person I know. Even he doesn’t believe you’ll stay.”
The truth in what he said stung. She hadn’t been very subtle about her intentions or her feelings. And she had been handing out mixed messages to everyone. Tess closed her eyes. What a screwup. How had she so miserably failed at what she’d thought would be a simple task?
Nick disappeared into the house and when Tess composed herself, she followed. Dinner was eaten in silence. Even Molly was quiet, sensing there’d been trouble with Nick. As soon as they finished, Nick disappeared without helping to clean up.
“I’m old enough to help, too, Tess,” Molly said.
Shamed by Molly’s efforts to stay cheerful and suspecting the girl was worried that Tess might just give up and fly back to Chicago, Tess attempted levity by suggesting a board game before bed. Molly’s surprised enthusiasm only made Tess feel worse.
Hours later, just before midnight, she went to double-check the back door at the end of the hall and when she found it slightly ajar, an ugly thought took shape in her mind. She strode to Nick’s room, knocked sharply and opened his door without waiting for a reply. The room was empty.
ALEC REACHED for the phone but, half-asleep, fumbled the receiver. He groped for it as it swayed pendulum-like between the bed and the table. His groggy senses registered the shrill pitch of a female voice as he kept swinging at the receiver and finally, managed to grasp hold of it.
“What?” he barked into the receiver, realizing the other person hadn’t stopped talking—shrieking, more like—the whole time.
“You don’t have to shout.”
Tess Wheaton. He identified the dulcet but icy tones right away. What now? He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock radio. Jeez. Midnight. He shot up. “What is it? Has something happened?”
“I just…have you seen Nick? Is he there?”
Oh God. This was not good. “No, he isn’t. What’s happened? Tell me everything.”
She blurted it all out in one long run-on sentence but he quickly synthesized three things. Break-in. Police. Fight with Nick. “Have you called any of his friends?”
A loud sigh. “I don’t know any of his friends. That’s one of the problems. I—I feel so damn helpless.”
“Okay. Relax. We should assume that he’s run off to spend the night with someone. Any idea when he left?”
“No. He went out the back door and I just discovered he was gone a minute ago. I’m—I’m sorry but you were the only person I could think to call.”
Well, at least she hadn’t called the police. Or worse, Jed Walker.
“All right. I’m going to get dressed and drive toward your place. I’ll go real slow. Maybe I’ll see him out on the road somewhere.”
“God, he wouldn’t be hitchhiking at this time of night, would he?”
“I truly hope not. But unless he’s taken the Volvo, his only way to get from there into town is by walking.”
“I didn’t think to check the garage. I’ll go do that now.”
She hung up. Alec stared at the disconnected phone then replaced the receiver. Her cool business exterior was unraveling under pressure, he thought. Which may not be a bad thing. Maybe when the outside stuff was completely cast aside, the real Tess Wheaton would be there for all to see and admire. Maybe. One could always hope.
He got up to dress and was searching for his car keys when the downstairs buzzer to his second-floor apartment pierced the quiet. He froze, then dashed to the intercom. He knew as soon as he pressed the button whose voice he’d be hearing.
“Alec? It’s me, Nick. Can I come up?”
TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES after Tess ran from garage to house, having confirmed that the car was still there, she saw headlights from the front drive sweep across the darkened living room. She reached the front door and had it opened before the Bronco’s engine stopped.
“Did you see him?” she asked when Alec stepped out the driver side. She clutched her robe lapels against the base of her throat, as if the night temperature had suddenly dropped ten degrees.
“Yeah, I saw him.” He jerked his head to the Bronco. “He’s inside. Showed up on my doorstep right after you hung up.”
She felt her legs wobble with relief and leaned against the door frame. “Thank God.”
“I wouldn’t give him the talk tonight, if you know what I mean. He’s pretty upset.”
“We’re all upset,” she hissed.
He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, See what I mean? Tess bit back her annoyance as soon as she saw Nick climb out of the SUV. He shuffled toward her, barely raising his eyes to watch where he was going. Without a word, he brushed past her and went inside.
“He has a lot on his chest right now, Tess. He needs to talk and most of all, he needs someone to listen. Without judgment.”
She felt the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Without judgment. Why, she was the least judgmental person she knew.
“He told me about the break-in,” he was saying, totally unaware that she was still staring at him as if he’d just sprouted another head. She couldn’t believe how egocentric the man was. So self-righteous.
“Was anything stolen?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Nothing obvious. I mean, the TV-VCR is still here and the two computers. All of Richard’s paint things seem to be there, though they were messed up.”
“How did they get in?”
“The door windows in the house and the studio were broken.”
“Do you want me to stay over tonight?”
“No, no. We’ll be fine. The police nailed a board over the door leading into the house.”
“Call Walker in the morning and find out if there’s still insurance coverage. I imagine there is. Have him give you the name of the company so someone can fix those windows right away.” He paused, searching her face. “So what do the police think?”
“Nick didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Ha. No wonder you’re standing here looking so unflappable. “They think some kids did it. High school kids, maybe. Maybe even…Nick.”
“He’d never do anything like that.”
“I agree. But he may know someone who would. That’s what the police were suggesting and he just…just blew up at the idea.”
“Because kids are very loyal to their friends. So questioning the value of friends is the same as questioning their judgment in making those friends.”
“You sound as though kids never make poor choices in friends.”
“I’m not saying that. Just that they’re not going to admit it if they do. Certainly not to a parent or a cop. It would be like admitting they made a mistake. And—” he paused a beat “—no one likes to admit that, do they?”
Tess frowned. She had a vague sense the conversation was not exclusively about Nick now. She took a calming breath. “So what’s your advice?” she asked, knowing for sure he’d have some.
He did. “Like I said, give him some space. Maybe let him stay home in the morning. But you need to reassure him that everything will be okay.”
“How can I do that? I can’t guarantee that! No one can.”
Alec walked right up to her. He was, she noted with some discomfort, well within arm’s reach. “But you can,” he said. His voice was low, almost insistent. “You can make a decision right now that will ensure everyone in this house will sleep well tonight.”
Except me, she was thinking. She started toward the front door when his hand caught her. “Tess,” he whispered. “I’m sorry we had that…whatever it was.
I had a feeling on the weekend that we…you and I…had made some kind of connection.”
Right, she wanted to quip. Your lips to mine. End of story. But she kept quiet, waiting to see where he was going to go with this.
“And I’m not sure exactly how or when, but it all just fell apart before it really even got started.”
He gave a woeful grin that almost had Tess extend a hand to him.
“So, I guess what I’m trying to say,” he murmured, his warm breath a whisper on her cheeks, “is that, uh, I’m hoping we can try to handle this with kid gloves because I very much want to get back that moment last night. When I…when you…before—”
“Nick saw us.”
“Yeah. Jeez. No wonder the kid’s confused. Seeing the two of us kissing like that was probably like seeing your friend—”
“Sleeping with your enemy?”
“Huh?” His forehead crinkled. “What’s that supposed to mean? That’s quite a leap, isn’t it? From a kiss to—”
She was in it now, Tess figured. Might as well keep sinking. “Bed? Is that what you were going to say?”
Alec wiped a palm across his brow as if it were high noon, rather than the middle of the night. “Heck no! Not that I…uh, I mean, I’d love to go there but—no, wait. Maybe I shouldn’t go there at all, if you know what I mean. I mean—”
Nice to see someone else floundering for a change. “What do you mean, Alec?” She inched closer. He was sweating. She was almost on the tips of his shoes. She thought she could hear his heart hammering against his ribs. Or maybe it was the echo of her own? Never mind. She liked making him sweat. Liked being in control again.
She raised her two hands, cupping his face and lowering it to hers so quickly she heard him gasp. Then she placed her lips on his and pressed him to her.
For a long moment—maybe eternity—he simply stood there, hands at his side. Until something deep inside awoke and he clutched the back of her head, holding it just enough to make sure she didn’t pull away any time soon.
The Second Family Page 17